When in Israel, do as the people of Israel do

On day 2, we visited Nazareth, Jesus boyhood hometown. While there, we enjoyed a delicious lunch of shawarma and falafel.  As you can see from the picture above, we loved these middle eastern delicacies!

We also visited the Church of the Annunciation, which preserves the grotto where it is believed that Mary, the mother of Jesus is buried.  The church sanctuary has numerous artistic representations of Mary accepting God’s invitation to allow the Word to become flesh in her, to which she replied, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord.  Let it be with me according to your word.”  (Luke 1:38).  The life-size paintings are from different countries around the world.  Here is pictured the portrayal of Mary from the United States...and as we learned from the sign beside it, this stunning work of art was made in Pennsylvania! 

Stay tuned for more postings about our pilgrimage through the Holy Land...